


You’re my Home

by GothicDeetz



Series: You’re My Home [1]
Category: Beetlejuice - All Media Types, Beetlejuice - Perfect/Brown & King
Genre: Afterlife, Bonding, Childhood Memories, Dead People, Demons, F/M, Families of Choice, Family, Family Bonding, Family Reunions, Father Figures, Father-Daughter Relationship, Fights, First Meetings, Found Family, Gen, Getting to Know Each Other, Ghosts, Good Demons, Kidnapping, Memories, Mother Figures, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Multi, One Big Happy Family, Other, Post-Canon, References to Canon, Rescue, Rescue Missions, Returning Home, Reunited and It Feels So Good, Spoilers, Step-parents, Tags Contain Spoilers, Tags May Change, Talking, Talking To Dead People, Trapped, stories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2020-04-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:14:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 10,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23530645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GothicDeetz/pseuds/GothicDeetz
Summary: Betelgeuse returns to the Maitland-Deetz house, hoping for a fresh start and the family of five allow him to stay with them for the time being. Lydia and Betelgeuse have their fair share of fun, pulling countless pranks on the Maitlands and doing overall dangerous things together. But when Betelgeuse’s mother returns after regenerating from being eaten by the Sandworm, she drags Lydia with her back into the Netherworld and now it’s up to Betelgeuse, the Deetzes, and the Maitlands to head into the Netherworld and get her back.Things get worse when Juno finds out they managed to escape the Netherworld without her knowing. And the female demon returns to the Maitland-Deetz house, taking Emily back to the Netherworld with her. Prompting the remaining six to head back into the Netherworld and get the newest member of the family back.Can they do it before it’s too late?
Relationships: Adam Maitland/Barbara Maitland, Beetlejuice & Adam Maitland & Barbara Maitland, Beetlejuice & Charles Deetz & Delia Deetz, Beetlejuice & Charles Deetz & Delia Deetz & Lydia Deetz & Adam Maitland & Barbara Maitland, Beetlejuice & Lydia Deetz, Beetlejuice & Lydia Deetz & Adam Maitland & Barbara Maitland, Charles Deetz & Delia Deetz & Adam Maitland & Barbara Maitland, Charles Deetz & Delia Deetz & Lydia Deetz & Adam Maitland & Barbara Maitland, Charles Deetz/Delia Deetz, Lydia Deetz & Adam Maitland & Barbara Maitland
Series: You’re My Home [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1705603
Kudos: 36





	1. Betelgeuse Returns

Sixteen year-old Lydia Veronica Joyce Deetz still remembered everything that happened the past week. The week she moved into her new house with her dad and Delia. From meeting Adam and Barbara in the attic to meeting Betelgeuse on the roof and almost taking her own life. From tricking Betelgeuse by choosing to go into the Netherworld to pretending to like and marry him. There was a reason she’d stabbed him the moment he came to life.

She regretted that. She knew Betelgeuse was her best demon friend forever. She thought back to the day she first met him. He’d been sulking out on the roof when she’d climbed out to take her life. And, although she’d heard everything he’d said about him being invisible to other people, she’d drowned him out. Instead focusing her mind solely on taking her own life. She didn’t realize he’d taken notice of her at first but by the time he’d said “That makes two of us”, she’d taken notice of him.

And then there was the whole wedding thing. Betelgeuse had tricked her by telling her that a poem in the book would bring her mother back to her but she didn’t realize at the time that that would just cause Barbara to almost get exorcised. She hated seeing that. It was the reason she agreed to marry Betelgeuse in the first place.

Upon Lydia agreeing to marry him, Betelgeuse had reversed Barbara’s near-accidental exorcism and when he went to draw a door to have Adam and Barbara go to the Netherworld, Lydia had other ideas. She’d instead made a beeline for the door to the afterlife and gone through, her father following her. This was something that made Betelgeuse upset. Angered. Enraged even.

She didn’t spend that long in the Netherworld, though it felt like hours. After briefly reconnecting with her dad, it was time for Lydia to think up a plan and put it into action. Betelgeuse wasn’t even going to expect this.

The sound of a voice cut through Lydia’s thoughts, “Lydia?!”

She knew that was Barbara. With a swift turn of her head, Lydia shouted back to her surrogate ghost mother, “Coming!”

_______________

Lydia made her way down the stairs and entered the living room of the Maitland-Deetz house and slumped herself down on the couch. Barbara was worried for her surrogate daughter, coming over and sitting herself down next to Lydia. She rested a hand on Lydia’s shoulder and Lydia buried her head into her chest. Barbara began to carefully run a hand through Lydia’s short, Black hair.

“Is everything okay, Lydia, sweetie?” Barbara asked, wrapping her arms around the teenager.

Lydia mumbled something the female ghost couldn’t make out.

“What was that?”

“I said what if he comes back?” Lydia repeated, a little louder this time. 

“Who?” Barbara asked. “Betelgeuse?”

“Yeah.”

Barbara gently wiped a few stray tears from Lydia’s eyes. “Oh, sweetie, Betelgeuse is in the Netherworld right now. Looking for his father. I doubt he’s even going to be back for at least a while. Why?”

“It’s just.... I miss him.” More tears began to pour from Lydia’s eyes. “I miss spending time with him. My life is so much more fun and interesting when he’s around.”

“But he almost exorcised me,” Barbara said, a frown forming on her face.

“No, I almost exorcised you. He tricked me into doing it.” By now Lydia’s tears had faded and she had now buried her head deeper into Barbara’s chest. “And I regret every single bit of it,” Lydia continued. Lydia wrapped her arms around Barbara’s chest as her crying started up again. 

Melting in the embrace, Barbara smiled softly. The two females stayed in that exact position for a while, at least up until Adam, Charles, and Delia all entered the living room. Adam coughing loudly startled Lydia and Barbara and the two females let go of one another, looking over towards the rest of the family. Charles and Delia followed a now worried Adam over towards the couch, Charles and Delia sitting down next to Lydia and Adam sitting down next to Barbara.

“Is everything okay in here?” Adam asked his wife. “We heard crying.”

“Yes, everything’s okay, Adam, honey,” Barbara explained with a smile. “Lydia just misses Betelgeuse.” 

“Misses Betelgeuse?” Charles raised an eyebrow. “But what about everything that he did to us?” 

“It’s not that,” Lydia explained. “It’s just I miss spending time with him. My life is so much more fun when he’s around.”

Her four parents exchanged uneasy glances with one another. Lydia missing Betelgeuse was the least of their worries. Right now they needed to help her get settled down after everything that happened in the past week. 

Adam reached over, wiping a few excess tears from his surrogate daughter’s eyes. “I hope he doesn’t come back for at least a rather long while. The last thing we want is everything that just happened happening again.” 

That upset Lydia and she stood up. “How could you say something like that, Adam! I’m going upstairs!”

Adam opened his mouth to say something to Lydia but the sound of a gravelly voice cut him off. “Boy, am I glad to be back.”

The family of five all turned around to find an opened door to the Netherworld in one of the walls of the living room. Beside the opened door, Betelgeuse stood. Dusting his suit off as he eyed all of them.

“Betelgeuse!” All five of them shouted at once.

“Hi.”


	2. Reunited

None of them could believe their eyes. Betelgeuse stood in front of them, a widened smile plastered on his face. A grin of excitement appeared on Lydia’s face as she ran to give her best demon friend a tight hug. All four of Lydia’s parents chose to stay away as far as they all possibly could from Betelgeuse. Each unsure of whether or not Betelgeuse was here to cause more trouble than he did the last time he was here.

But seeing the teenager happy brought smiles to each of their faces.

“Betelgeuse!” the teen cried happily. “You’re back!”

“Woah woah woah, scarecrow.” Betelgeuse held Lydia out in front of him and swung her around. “Not that I don’t appreciate the hug you gave me but it was a little too tight for me.”

“Heh...sorry, Bj.” Lydia laughed as Betelgeuse placed her back down on the floor. “I guess I just got a little carried away.” 

All Betelgeuse did was let out a quiet laugh. 

Lydia looked up at him. “Whatever happened to searching for your dad in the Netherworld, Beej? Did you find him?” 

Betelgeuse paused and glanced to the side. Unsure of what to say. Lydia was staring into his eyes, desperately waiting for answers to her questions. It wasn’t that Betelgeuse didn’t know how to answer either one of Lydia’s questions, he just...couldn’t bring himself to do it. Shakily, Betelgeuse focused his attention on Lydia and let out a quiet sigh, “nah. I gave up after two days of searching. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t seem to find him so I drew a door to the living world and came back here for a change.”

“And how long has it been since you decided to stop searching for your dad in the Netherworld, Betelgeuse?” The tone present in Barbara’s voice was confused. Betelgeuse turned to her.

“About an hour or so before I came here, B-Town,” came Betelgeuse’s response.

Barbara just stood there. The nickname B-Town felt so...bothersome to her. At some point in time she was going to have to ask him to stop calling her that. She just didn’t know when. And she knew Adam felt the same when Betelgeuse referred to him as A-Dog.

All Barbara could say was, “okay...”

___________

Lydia sat Betelgeuse down on the couch before sitting down across from him. They had a lot to catch up on considering it was a week since they’d last seen each other, in the time of the living world at least, since Betelgeuse had left to do some searching. But now he was back and Lydia was as happy as she was before her mom passed away. All four of her parents had moved into the kitchen area of the house, casually chatting amongst themselves all the while allowing Lydia and Betelgeuse some time to talk themselves. 

Due to the amount of time they spent not being able to hang out and spend their time together, Lydia had grown depressed. But Betelgeuse being back changed that.

Lydia sported a widened smile on her face as she stared over towards Betelgeuse and that was met with a nervous gaze from the demon. “So,” Lydia began, looking away from Betelgeuse and gazing down towards the floor. “How long did you say you’ve been searching for your dad in the Netherworld?”

“Like I said,” Betelgeuse paused and eyed Lydia, “two full days. C’mon scarecrow, you heard me say that.”

“I’m not sure I did,” Lydia responded in a playful, teasing tone of voice. She stood up and looked at Betelgeuse.

“Lyds! C’mon!” Betelgeuse laughed, standing up, hoisting the teenager up into the air and spinning her around. Lydia laughed at this and Betelgeuse smirked at her the moment he stopped spinning her around. “I know you’re only teasing me. Cut it out.”

“Alright fine! I’m only teasing, Beej!” Lydia rolled her eyes and Betelgeuse placed her back down on the couch before sitting down next to her.

At this time, all four of Lydia’s parents had stopped their conversation and they were now looking at Lydia and Betelgeuse in concern. Which Lydia had a feeling was due to how loud she was laughing when Betelgeuse spun her around in the air. Charles coughed to grab his daughter’s attention and both Lydia and Betelgeuse focused their attention over towards him.

“Was there something you needed, dad?” Lydia asked.

“Nono.” Charles scratched his head and turned to look at Delia, Adam, and Barbara again but he continued to talk to Lydia, “we were concerned by your laughing loud. What were you doing?”

“Allowing Betelgeuse to spin me around in the air for the second time today,” came Lydia’s response. “Next, Beej and I are planning on having the fun we missed out on. I was thinking maybe I could search the attic for something fun to play with.”

All four adults pretended not to hear the second part of her sentence, instead resuming talking to one another. 

Their conversation didn’t last long as Lydia had scrambled up to the attic and found a flame thrower for some odd reason. And now she and Betelgeuse were running around the kitchen with it. All the while referring to themselves as the king and queen of all flame throwers.

It had taken Barbara forever to get them to give it to her and place it back in the attic of the house. She came back downstairs to find Lydia and Betelgeuse over by the stove, using matches and a lighter to cook food on it. Charles, Delia, and Adam were still sitting at the kitchen counter, their eyes focused on Lydia and Betelgeuse as they managed to set fire to the stovetop. Luckily the fire was small and Barbara was able to extinguish it in time.

___________

All four adults sat Lydia down on the couch and sat across from her. Each and every one of them crossing their arms, their gazes focused on Lydia. She was nervous, to say the least, not knowing just how angry all four of her parents were at her for nearly setting the house on fire with Betelgeuse.

Lydia opened her mouth to say something but Barbara cut her off, “you are in so much trouble, young lady.”

Lydia hung her head. “I know.”


	3. Troublemaking

Lydia sat on her bed, her hands resting against her chin. It hadn't been too long since she'd gotten in trouble with all four of her parents for very nearly setting the kitchen and, by extension, the whole house on fire. She regretted doing that. She'd promised that she'd do less dangerous things with Betelgeuse from now on. But was she really going to own up to that? She wasn't quite sure yet.

Betelgeuse appeared in Lydia's room a short while later, a few feet above her head. His hands were resting behind his head as he moved into a position in which he was floating on his back in midair. 

Lydia looked up at him and smiled. "Hi, Betelgeuse." 

He disappeared in a flash of light and reappeared next to Lydia on her bed, resting a hand on her shoulder. Lydia refocused her attention on him. "Heya, kid," came his response. "Did you want to do anything else fun."

"Yeah," Lydia said with a sigh, "as long as it's not something that's dangerous. I don't want my dad, Delia, and the Maitlands getting mad at me again."

"They won't," Betelgeuse reassured Lydia. "I was thinking that we should maybe take those matches and that lighter we were using before we accidentally set the stove on fire and instead use them to set ourselves on fire."

"No. That would get me in trouble again, Betelgeuse."

"C'mon Scarecrow," Betelgeuse pleaded. "Please?"

"Fine!" Lydia let out a sigh.

A knock sounded on Lydia's bedroom door and both Lydia and Betelgeuse focused their attention over towards it. 

"Who is it?" Lydia shouted.

"It's Barbara!" Lydia's surrogate ghost mother shouted back from the other side of Lydia's bedroom door. "Do you mind coming back downstairs, Lydia? Adam, Charles, Delia, and I would like to talk to you."

"Sure!" Lydia shouted. She got up from her bed and started to leave her room but not before she focused her attention on Betelgeuse. "I'll be back upstairs in a bit," she said to the demon.

He nodded in response and Lydia turned, leaving her room.

___________

Lydia was sitting down on the couch, all four of her parents sitting across from her. Lydia had the same look of nervousness on her face as she did earlier but she knew she was no longer in trouble with any of them. At least she hoped she was no longer in trouble with any of her parents. She bit her lip as she eyed her four parents. "You guys needed to talk to me?" Lydia asked.

All four of Lydia's parents nodded and the teenager gulped, not wanting to know how the conversation she was about to have with them was going to go. Closing her eyes, Lydia turned her head away from her four parents. But she soon opened them again, her gaze refocusing on her two sets of parents as Barbara reached over and began to run a hand through Lydia's short, Black hair.

Lydia smiled softly. "I'm guessing I'm no longer in trouble with you guys, right?"

"Nono," came Barbara's response. "Of course not."

"Just as long as you don't do anything dangerous with Betelgeuse again," Adam added.

"About that," Lydia looked down and all four of her parents each raised an eyebrow. "Bj and I were thinking about using the matches and the lighter from earlier to set ourselves on fire."

"NO!!!!" All four of her parents shouted in unison.

But it was too late. Lydia had gone back upstairs and asked Betelgeuse to come back downstairs with her. All four of Lydia's parents tried to stop her and Betelgeuse from setting themselves on fire, to no avail. But they went through with it anyway, with Lydia being the one who chose to set herself on fire. It didn't take Barbara long to extinguish said fire and by the end of the day, Lydia was once again in trouble.

___________

"Look on the bright side, Lyds," Betelgeuse said. He floated a few feet above Lydia as the latter threw herself on her bed and screamed into her pillow. "We get to do fun things here in your bedroom. None of your parents will notice."

"I'm sure they'll notice that the two of us set the house on fire if the smoke detectors in the house all go off at once, Beej," Lydia grumbled into her pillow. Her voice was muffled, however, so Betelgeuse didn't hear what she said. Again, he disappeared in a flash of light and reappeared next to Lydia and causing the teenage girl to lift her head up and look in his eyes. "You're not planning on actually setting the house on fire this time around, are you, Betelgeuse?" Lydia asked.

"No...yeah," came Betelgeuse's response. He folded his hands behind his back and chuckled softly, eyeing the teenager in front of him.

“Ugh.” Lydia let out a groan of annoyance. 

___________

“LYDIA?!!!” Barbara shouted up the stairs around an hour later. “WHY ARE ALL OF THE SMOKE DETECTORS IN THE HOUSE GOING OFF AT ONCE?!!!”

“Heh heh...” came Lydia’s nervous response. “Beej and I may or may not have set the house on fire.”

Barbara’s eyes widened at this. “WHAT?!”

____________

Lydia again sat on the couch, her head hung low as all four of her parents eyed her in anger. She had to admit. Deciding to help Betelgeuse with setting the house on fire probably wasn’t the best idea. And now here she was - in trouble with all four of her parents once again. Her dad sat on the couch across from her, followed by Delia then Adam and finally Barbara. Betelgeuse had been asked to remain upstairs until Lydia was done talking to her parents about the reason why she set the house on fire with his help. But he didn’t seem to mind.

“Lydia,” Charles began, eyeing his daughter. “Is there any particular reason why you and Betelgeuse set the house on fire?”

Lydia couldn’t think up a response to her father’s question. She was nervous, regretful even, that she helped Betelgeuse set the house on fire in the first place. 

Barbara could see the look of regret in her surrogate daughter’s eyes and she turned to Adam, Charles, and Delia. “Could we perhaps let her off with a warning so that she knows setting things on fire isn’t okay?” Barbara asked. The rest of the grownups nodded in response and the four of them refocused their attention back over towards Lydia.

“You’re not in trouble, Lydia,” Barbara spoke up, “but please don’t set any more fires.”

“I won’t.” Lydia smiled before heading back upstairs to her room.


	4. Betelgeuse, Lydia, and the Bully Problem

“WHERE IS LYDIA?!” Betelgeuse shouted early the next morning. 

Barbara looked up from where she was sitting, catching sight of Betelgeuse in the living room, groaning and making a mess of it, desperately searching for Lydia. The demon picked up a pillow from the couch and threw it onto the floor, hoping Lydia wasn’t shrunken and now the size of a tiny doll. He grumbled in annoyance and made his way over towards Barbara. 

“Where is Lydia?” Betelgeuse repeated, a little quieter.

“School,” came Barbara’s response. “I would have thought she told you that she was going to school today.”

“Not that I remember.” Betelgeuse sat himself down next to Barbara and rested his head on the kitchen counter. “How long does Lyds have to be away from me?”

“Are you going to act like you’re a dog waiting for its owner to return every time Lydia goes to school, Betelgeuse?” Barbara asked, her voice full of confusion.

“What do you mean every time Lydia goes to school?” Betelgeuse asked.

“She’s got school all week, Betelgeuse,” Barbara calmly explained. “She’ll be back in six hours from now and the same thing will happen tomorrow and so on.”

“Does she just have school this week?” Betelgeuse asked, a little curious.

Barbara seemed...confused by the question. Unable to think up an answer. But still, she figured the best way to answer the demon’s question was, “not just this week, Bj. Lydia’s going to be going to school up until early June of next year. And then she’ll start up again late August.”

“Can I go with her to school tomorrow?”

“Only if she wants you to,” came Barbara’s response. “I highly doubt it though.” 

_________

“Betelgeuse!” Lydia managed to spurt out, scared. 

She backed up against a wall as a group of students who had been bullying her ever since she started school Friday of last week approached her. These students had been bullying her over things such as her mom’s death and the fact that she lived in a house that was also inhabited. The bullying had only just started happening and yet she was starting to get tired of it. 

“Betelgeuse!” Lydia repeated, a little louder. 

One of Lydia’s bullies laughed softly, pushing Lydia to the ground and beginning to taunt her.

“BETELGEUSE!!!” Lydia shouted as loud as she possibly could. That just made Lydia’s bullies laugh louder. They didn’t seem to be scared. 

But it didn’t last for long. The moment the lights of the hallway began to flicker ominously, Lydia’s bullies backed away from her but they remained huddled together in one corner of the hallway. Lydia sat down with her back against the wall, breathing sighs of relief. In a flash of light, Betelgeuse appeared beside Lydia. Betelgeuse’s appearance alone was enough to bring looks of panic to his best human friend’s bullies. His eyes, full of anger, were focused on the panicking group of students and they made a run for it. They were now scared. 

As soon as they were out of sight, Betelgeuse turned towards Lydia and helped her up. “You okay, Scarecrow?” the demon asked.

“I’m fine.” Lydia smiled, giving the demon a hug. “Thank you, Betelgeuse.”

“That’s good to know,” Betelgeuse said, returning Lydia’s hug.

Lydia let go a few minutes later and turned to head down the hallway and towards the front office. Betelgeuse followed close behind her, seeing Lydia tired and looking like she wanted to go home early.

___________

The school secretary called Charles to let him know that Lydia wanted to go home early and soon, his car pulled up and Lydia and Betelgeuse got in. 

The car ride home was quiet. Not one word was spoken. But Charles knew he could ask his daughter what happened to cause Lydia to want to come home early. As soon as the car pulled up to the house, Lydia and Betelgeuse got out and headed inside, followed by Charles. 

Lydia and Betelgeuse sat themselves on the couch in the living room and waited for all four of Lydia’s parents to join them. Soon, Barbara entered the living room and sat on the couch, followed closely behind by Adam, Charles, and finally Delia.

Adam was the first to break the silence shared between the six of them, “so why’d you decide to come home from school early today, Lydia?”

“Well,” Lydia started to say. But she wasn’t sure how to explain this. “I don’t know if any of you guys knew this, but, ever since I started school, I’ve been bullied nonstop.”

All four of her parents gasped in shock. 

Lydia continued, “the bullying’s bad and has only just started yet I’ve gotten tired of it.”

“How bad?” Barbara asked. Though she already knew the answer. 

“Really upsetting me bad. Like sometimes they’d tease me over my mom’s death,” Lydia said quietly, looking down towards the ground. All four of her parents looked at one another before refocusing their attention back over towards Lydia. 

“And you summoned Betelgeuse to help you?” Barbara asked.

“Yeah.” Lydia nodded in response. “Those bullies ran off scared the moment they saw him.” She gave Betelgeuse a high five. 

Lydia’s dad was the next to speak, “did you want to take some time off of school, Lydia, sweetheart?”

Lydia nodded again. “Yeah.”

Charles called the school and Lydia was given three weeks off. This made Betelgeuse happy, knowing he now had plenty of time to hang out with Lydia and do fun stuff with her. Not having to worry about her spending time away from him. Even if it was for three weeks.


	5. Lydia - Kidnapped

“Uh, Scarecrow,” the tone in Betelgeuse’s voice sounded a little frantic, “a little help here?”

“Betelgeuse? What’s going on?” Lydia asked. 

“Look up and see for yourself, Kid.”

Lydia looked up towards Betelgeuse, trying her best not to laugh when she noticed him dangling from her ceiling fan. The collar of Betelgeuse’s suit shirt was attached to one of the blades and he was kicking his legs constantly, trying to get down. His eyes, full of worry and confusion, were focused on Lydia and his mouth was twisted into a panicked frown.

“Betelgeuse?” Lydia was concerned for her best demon friend. “How did you get up there?” She stood up and moved to stand below Betelgeuse, the look on her face turning into a look of confusion as she kept her eyes on him.

“I don’t really remember,” Betelgeuse replied. “Though I think I teleported up to the ceiling of your room and somehow ended up dangling from your ceiling fan instead.”

“Have you even tried to teleport yourself down from there?” Lydia asked, a little matter-of-factly. 

“No.”

“Oh, Betelgeuse!” Lydia let out a sigh. 

Lydia pushed her desk chair into position so that it was directly under where Betelgeuse was hanging from her ceiling fan and stood on it. Grabbing a hold of Betelgeuse’s leg, Lydia pulled hard and that resulted in the two of them falling and ending up in a pile on Lydia’s bedroom floor. The sound of the crash that resonated from the two of them falling over onto the floor was loud enough to make all four of Lydia’s parents to come upstairs to make sure the teenager was okay and not hurt. Barbara pushed open the door to Lydia’s bedroom and entered, followed by Adam, Charles, and finally Delia. Adam helped Betelgeuse up off of Lydia and Barbara helped Lydia up off the floor, the two ghosts sitting them on Lydia’s bed.

“Lydia, sweetheart?” Charles asked his daughter. “Are you okay.”

“I’m fine, dad,” came Lydia’s response.

“What happened?” Barbara asked.

“Betelgeuse somehow wound up hanging from my ceiling fan,” Lydia said with a sigh. “I pushed my desk chair directly under him and pulled him down from there, which resulted in the crash you guys heard.”

“Uhhhh...” All four of Lydia’s parents looked at one another in confusion.

Barbara carefully looked her surrogate daughter over, noticing a few cuts and bruises covering Lydia’s arms. She summoned and levitated enough bandages to cover each injury on the teenager’s arms. “Thanks, Barb,” Lydia sniffed.

“You’re welcome, Lydia, sweetie.”

__________

All six of them were in the living room a few minutes later. Lydia sat on the couch, her eyes focused on a ghost hunting show she had playing on the television. Adam, Barbara, and Betelgeuse sat on the floor, playing some sort of board game that Barbara had found out. Charles sat next to Lydia, his eyes focused on a newspaper he was reading. Delia was cleansing some crystals she had placed upon a shelf.

Delia ducked when a game piece from the board game that Adam, Barbara, and Betelgeuse were playing was thrown in her general direction. “What was that for?” The Spiritual Life Coach asked.

“Sorry, Delia!” Barbara shouted back in apology.

“It’s okay, Barbara.”

Another game piece was thrown, this time by Betelgeuse, in Charles’s direction and it hit him in the head. He rubbed his head as he looked up from his newspaper. “Hey!”

“Sorry, Chuck!” Betelgeuse shouted.

Then a third game piece was thrown by Adam, this time hitting Lydia in the head. The teenager paused her ghost hunting show and focused her attention on Adam, Barbara, and Betelgeuse.“Could you guys please stop throwing game pieces everywhere?” Lydia asked politely. 

“My apologies, Lydia!” Adam shouted.

__________

Betelgeuse slung Lydia over his shoulder, the teenager laughing her head off as she playfully punched Betelgeuse in the shoulder. This only made Betelgeuse tickle Lydia with a third hand that appeared out of nowhere. 

“Haha! Betelgeuse, cut it out!” Lydia laughed loudly as she tried her best to push the demon’s third hand away. But Betelgeuse wasn’t going to let her do that. Every time she successfully pushed his hand away, he would just resume tickling her. This made Lydia laugh louder every time it happened.

“Never!!” Betelgeuse replied with a wicked grin on his face as the process repeated for what seemed like the sixteenth time.

Over in the corner, all four of Lydia’s parents watched on as Betelgeuse placed Lydia back down on the ground and picked her up again, beginning to throw her in the air. Lydia laughed loudly as Betelgeuse began to ruffle her hair and the teenager started to playfully punch Betelgeuse in the stomach. Right where she’d stabbed him following their sham wedding.

None of them seemed to notice a door to the Netherworld open up behind a giggling Lydia and Betelgeuse, a woman clad in Red stepping out.

At least not until the woman spoke a word, “you!!!”

All six of them turned their attention on the woman that had just made her appearance known. Betelgeuse placed Lydia down, angrily making his way over towards the woman. 

He stopped in front of her and glared at her. “What are you doing here, MOM!” Betelgeuse demanded. Juno just laughed, pushing past Betelgeuse and making her way over towards Lydia. The teenager let out a squeaking noise as Juno grabbed a hold of her arm. 

“LET HER GO RIGHT NOW, YOU, YOU MONSTER!!!” an angered Barbara demanded. She used her ghost powers to free a frightened Lydia from Juno’s grip.

But the female demon wasn’t going to give up so easily. She again grabbed a hold of of Lydia and began to drag the teenager over towards the door leading to the Netherworld.

“What do you want with me?” Lydia struggled to get out of Juno’s grasp.

Juno tightened her grip on the teenager’s arm. “I want you dead for sneaking into the Netherworld.” 

With one final pull, Juno managed to pull Lydia straight into the Netherworld with her, leaving behind a shocked Adam, Barbara, Betelgeuse, Charles, and Delia. The five of them flinched as the door to the Netherworld slammed shut in front of them.

They stared at the wall in complete and utter shock, unsure of what to think, say, or even do. Lydia was gone, trapped in the Netherworld and none of them were even expecting it. 

Barbara turned to face Adam, Charles, Delia, and Betelgeuse. “What do we do now?”

“The only thing we can do now,” Betelgeuse said, resting a hand on the female ghost’s shoulder, “is head into the Netherworld and save Lydia from my mother.” The other four agreed, refocusing their attention back over towards the now bare wall and figuring out a plan to hopefully save Lydia.


	6. Trapped Together

Lydia tried and failed to get out of Juno's grip as the Red clad woman dragged her further into the Netherworld. She had to admit, being taken away from her family a literal week after everything that went down wasn't something that she'd been expecting. She missed her family and wished to see them again.

Lydia took a quick glance at Juno right as she locked her in a room. The teenager was scared. Sure she missed her family but what if she never saw them again. What if they weren't going to come rescue her. She shook that last thought out of her mind. She knew that they would rescue her when they had the chance.

"Stay in here," Juno had told the teenager, "and don't think about escaping."

That was all Lydia could do for now. As soon as Juno left, Lydia looked up at the ceiling of the room she was in and uttered a few quiet words, "I hope you guys get here soon. I miss you all."

And with that she fell asleep.

_______

Adam paced around the room, Barbara, Charles, Delia, and Betelgeuse watching him. Not too long ago, Lydia had been taken to the Netherworld by Juno. And the now group of five were figuring out a way to get into the Netherworld without Juno seeing them. 

Behind the group of five, a door to the Netherworld was open. Having been drawn in the exact same location as the door Lydia was taken through was. Adam stopped pacing around, eyeing it.

"It's been too long," the male ghost said to everyone else in the room, "I think it's time we headed into the Netherworld and start searching for Lydia."

"Good point, honey," came Barbara's quiet response. "But what if Betelgeuse's mother catches us. The last thing thatwe all want is to be trapped in the Netherworld forever like Lydia."

"And that's why we have to do it quietly, that way she doesn't catch us," Adam spoke.

All five of them focused their attention back over towards the opened door to the Netherworld and began to make their way over towards it. Charles and Betelgeuse had been to the Netherworld before, but for Delia, Adam, and Barbara - this was their first time in the Netherworld. They didn't know what to expect.

With one final agreement, the five of them entered the Netherworld and the door closed behind them. Charles was lucky he'd brought a piece of chalk with him. They were going to need it for after they'd rescued Lydia. 

_____

Lydia had been told by Juno that she wasn't going to be getting any form of food or drink from now on and the teenager was afraid that she was going to die in the Netherworld. She hoped she wasn't going to die in the Netherworld.

She'd woken up from her quick nap starving and looked around for food only to remember what Juno had told her earlier. She sighed in sadness and slumped on the floor. She wanted her family and she hoped they would come for her soon. 

She didn't know how long she was going to last with the lack of food. 

______

The remaining five crept through the Netherworld, careful not to be caught by Juno. The moment the Red clad woman walked past them, they hid and when she was completely out of sight, they breathed sighs of relief.

"Phew," Adam said quietly, "that was close."

"Now to focus on the hard part," Barbara continued on from her husband, "searching for Lydia."

A voice behind them startled them, "well well well."

They turned to find Juno eyeing them, the Red clad woman shaking her head. They'd been caught. And there was nothing they could do. 

______

Lydia had fallen asleep on the floor again, the only thought in her mind being the lack of food in her stomach.

She was woken up by the door to her room opening and five silhouettes being thrown inside. She recognized the silhouettes - they were of her dad, Delia, the Maitlands, and Betelgeuse.

"Guys!" She cried happily. She stood up and ran over to hug each of them.

"Lydia? Are you okay?" Barbara was the first to speak up after a few minutes of silence shared between the six of them. 

"I'm fine," came Lydia's response.

"Did you want to come home?" Her father asked.

"You took the words right out of my mouth, dad."

Charles smiled, pushing open the door and leading the rest of the group out. They hadn't gotten far when Juno appeared in front of them, eyeing them with a look of disapproval.

"Trying to escape are we?" The female demon asked.

None of them could think up an answer. 

_______

She’d thrown them into a completely different room than last time, the group of six looking sullen. They’d been caught by Juno twice that day and there was nothing else they could do.

Juno had asked Miss. Argentina to stand guard and make sure none of them tried to escape. If they were, then Miss. Argentina was to tell Juno. The Green skinned woman obliged.

Lydia sat sadly on the floor as the rest of her family eyed her with worry. 

“So, I guess we’re stuck here for now,” Charles lamented.

The rest of the family nodded in response. Charles, Delia, the Maitlands, and Betelgeuse sat themselves down on the floor right next to Lydia and they each let out sad sighs. They didn’t know exactly what they were going to do from now on. They felt as though they were never going to be able to leave the Netherworld.

Little did they know, someone connected to Charles and Lydia had watched on in shock as they were thrown into the room by Juno.


	7. Emily?!

The six of them heard voices just outside their room followed by the door of the room opening. Charles looked up from where he was sitting and gasped in shock. Standing in the doorway of the room was his late first wife, Emily. 

He shakily stood up and slowly made his way over to the ghost, uttering only a single word, “Emily...”

“Charles...” she put a shaking hand to her mouth, gasping as well.

Lydia looked up as well, the shock at seeing her mother for the first time in a few months washing over her. She shakily stood up as well. “M-mom?” Lydia sputtered. Emily smiled softly at her daughter, pulling her into a much needed hug.

“Lydia,” she said quietly.

“MOM!” Lydia melted into Emily’s embrace, hugging her tightly. 

Over by the opposite side of the room, Adam, Barbara, Delia, and Betelgeuse watched on as Charles and Lydia interacted with the other woman. Emily spotted them and smiled, making her way over towards them.

“And who are these?” She asked.

Lydia smiled as she introduced each of her new family members to her mother. “Mom, this is Adam, Barbara, Delia, and Betelgeuse.”

“Nice to meet you all,” Emily said with a smile.

“It’s nice to meet you too,” came Barbara’s response. She, followed by her husband, then Delia, and finally Betelgeuse, stood up and one by one they shook Emily’s extended hand.

_______

Emily Deetz initially had decided to stay in the room with the rest of the family, deeming it only fair that she be part of the family as well. Sure it had been a few months and both Lydia and Charles had moved on, but the female ghost wasn’t going to let that stop her from spending time with her actual family as well as all of the new family members.

Said ghost was now sitting on the floor with Adam and Barbara, the three of them chatting away about Lydia and how she was doing. Emily was glad Lydia had multiple active parental figures in life. It made up for the lost time.

Other than Charles and Lydia, the member of the Maitland-Deetz family that Emily got along with the most was Barbara. The two female ghosts had way too much in common. Including the fact that they were both considered dead moms by Lydia. 

“So, Em,” Barbara said, turning her attention to her fellow female ghost friend. “What was Lydia like when she was younger?”

Emily laughed. “Quite troublesome I’d have to say. I remember one time she’d gotten into our poison cupboard and Charles and I caught her before she could drink anything. She was four and a half at the time. She had the most adorable look on her face when she realized she was caught. Is she still that troublesome?”

“Yeah...” Barbara said with a sigh. “She’s pulled countless pranks on Adam and I ever since we came into her life. She’s even done dangerous stuff such as setting herself on fire.” Emily gasped and Barbara nodded. “She’s set multiple fires. All of which I’ve managed to extinguish in time.”

Emily looked over at her daughter and sighed before turning her attention back over towards Barbara and Adam. “How’d you guys die?”

“Fell through the floorboards of our home,” came Adam’s response. “You?”

“Cancer.” Emily sighed again as she ran a hand through her short, Black hair. She turned to her husband. “Charles, how’d Lydia handle things following my death?”

“How do you think,” came her husband’s response. “She’d moped around for months. Dressed herself head to toe in Black clothing and cut her once long hair short to match yours. She became super obsessed with death and has even tried to take her life by leaping off the roof of our new house.”

Emily gasped, placing a hand over her mouth. She cast a worried glance over towards Lydia who was currently with Betelgeuse - daring the demon to eat one of Delia’s favorite crystals whole. The Spiritual Life Coach was frantic, desperately trying to get Lydia and Betelgeuse to give her her crystal back.

“Give it back, guys!” Delia again tried to reach for her crystal. She gave up, turning to Charles, Emily, Adam, and Barbara for help.

“Lydia, Betelgeuse, give Delia her crystal back.” Charles let out a sigh. 

Betelgeuse grumbled and pulled the crystal out of his mouth before giving it back to Delia, the Spiritual Life Coach wiping the spit covering it off. If Betelgeuse couldn’t eat things he shouldn’t eat then what else could he and Lydia do to pass the time. Then Betelgeuse got what he hoped was a great idea. He turned to Lydia, a widened smile on his face.

“Hey, Lyds!” he laughed. “How about we set the room on fire?”

“That sounds like a great idea, Bj!” came Lydia’s response.

“NO!!!” Charles, Emily, Delia, Adam, and Barbara shouted in unison.

The two of them looked at the five adults in the room. They weren’t even allowed to set the room on fire? What else would they be able to do?

“How about instead of doing something as dangerous as setting this room on fire,” Emily quickly suggested with a sigh, “we get to know one another instead. How does that sound?”

The other six agreed to that idea. It would be fun to do something like that. It was far much better - and less dangerous - than Lydia and Betelgeuse setting the room on fire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow - two chapters in one day? I’m on fire.


	8. Almost Taken

Miss Argentina stepped aside as Juno pushed open the door to the room the group of seven was in and closed it behind her. The demon stopped suddenly, her narrowed eyes falling directly onto Emily. 

“You’re not supposed to be in here,” Juno spat, her hand shaking as she pointed one of her fingers at Emily.

“Are you sure?” Emily stood up and folded her arms as she gazed at Juno. “Because I’m pretty sure I’m allowed to spend time with my family and friends.”

By now Juno had had enough. The demon reached a hand over, gripping a tight hold on Emily’s arm. “You’re coming with me!” she hissed. 

Before Juno could remove Emily from the room, Charles and Lydia stepped forward, equally angered looks on their faces as they demanded she let her go. Juno let go of Emily’s arm and turned her attention onto Lydia and Charles. With absolutely no hesitation, she grabbed hold of their arms and moved to drag the two of them out of the room.

“You leave them alone!” Emily demanded of the female demon. Behind her, Delia, Adam, Barbara, and Betelgeuse stood, the expressions on their faces matching that of Emily’s.

“Oh, look at you,” Juno teased, “trying to protect your family.” The look on her face became a look of what appeared to be victory as she let go of Charles but kept her grip tight on Lydia’s arm. “It’s much too late,” Juno continued.

“Leave Lydia alone!” everyone else in the room shouted at once. Juno just chuckled.

The rest of the group assumed fighting stances when Juno refused to let go of Lydia, with Barbara going first. She lunged at Juno and used her ghost powers to loosen the demon’s grip on Lydia. Pinning Juno to the ground, a low growling noise began to slowly emanate from Barbara’s throat. Juno tried to push her off but Barbara just tightened her grip on her. Then Adam, Charles, Delia, and Emily helped Barbara whilst Betelgeuse made sure Lydia was okay.

_______

Juno had been forced from the room and now the group of seven was recovering from what had just happened. They had hope that Juno wasn’t going to show up again. They didn’t want to go through something similar. 

Lydia and Charles sat with Emily, the three of them recovering from being grabbed and almost removed from the room by Juno. They still remembered the conversation from earlier - Barbara shouting at Juno to never set foot in the room again. But they weren’t sure Juno was even listening at the time. 

Before being forced from the room, Juno had told them that they were to remain in the room for the rest of eternity but, like her, they hardly heard that. They just wanted to go home and forget this ever happened.

Barbara and Adam sat together with their backs against one of the walls, their eyes watching the other five occupants of the room. They could see that Lydia had now gotten up and decided to make her way over towards Betelgeuse - again daring the demon to eat another one of Delia’s favorite crystals.

Again, Delia tried, to no avail, to grab her crystal from Betelgeuse’s hand. But it was too late. Betelgeuse had successfully managed to eat the crystal whole.

“I can’t believe you actually did that!” Lydia said, a look of amazement appearing in her eyes. Betelgeuse smirked and gave her a high five.

“If we ever get home...” Delia let out a groan, “you guys are buying me a replacement for that crystal.”

“Fine!” Betelgeuse and Lydia muttered in unison.

_______

Lydia, Charles, and Delia were exceptionally hungry. And without any traces of food, they were basically screwed. Emily, Barbara, and Adam noticed that the three of them were starving and turned to Betelgeuse, wondering what to do.

“You guys are ghosts,” Betelgeuse reminded the three of them, “why not summon some food for them to eat?”

“Oh...right...” the three ghosts exchanged glances.

They each managed to summon Apples which they gave to Lydia, Charles, and Delia. The three of them took the Apples and ate them rather fast, indicating just how hungry they were. 

“Thanks for the Apples, guys, mom,” Lydia said with a smile on her face. “We needed them.”

________

Lydia and Betelgeuse had decided to play yet another prank on all five of Lydia’s parents, leading to a very serious scolding from the five of them. The prank wasn’t even that harmless - Lydia had asked Betelgeuse to turn the floor into ice and then make them slide across it.

“Hey, Betelgeuse,” Lydia whispered to her best demon friend. “How about another prank. What if you could turn the floor into-.”

“No!!!!!” all five of the adults in the room said simultaneously.

Lydia and Betelgeuse turned their attention over towards the other five. “Way to ruin our fun, guys. I was just about to ask Betelgeuse to turn the floor from ice to lava. Totally harmless.” The five adults glanced at one another before glaring at Lydia and Betelgeuse. 

And, at that, Lydia realized just how much trouble she was going to be in when the group of seven ever got home.

Quite a lot of trouble.

“Guys, can I have another Apple?” Lydia asked in the midst of all this.


	9. In which Betelgeuse Eats More Things that He Shouldn’t Eat

“Hey! Beej!” Lydia shouted with a grin on her face, “I dare you to eat a bottle of makeup whole!”

“You’re on!” came Betelgeuse’s response.

Lydia and Betelgeuse laughed. Betelgeuse was holding a bottle of makeup, which the rest of the group immediately guessed that he summoned out of thin air, in his hand. He kept his eyes on the makeup bottle and immediately raised it up to his mouth.

“Do it!” Lydia cheered loudly, “DO IT!” 

Betelgeuse popped the bottle into his mouth and swallowed it whole. Lydia smiled widely up at him, shouting, “YES! Now I dare you to eat a rock whole, Betelgeuse!”

Betelgeuse smirked at her. If eating a rock whole was anything like eating the crystal from earlier, then he guessed that he could at least do that. With no hesitation, he materialized a rock out of thin air and popped it into his mouth, also swallowing it whole.

“What else do you want me to eat, Scarecrow?”

Lydia put a finger to her chin, deep in thought. “Hmm....oh, I know...how about a bottle of water?”

“I’ll do it!”

“YES!!!”

He summoned a bottle of water out of thin air and popped it into his mouth. Successfully swallowing it whole, Betelgeuse looked to Lydia and waited for her to suggest something else for him to eat whole.

________

So far, Betelgeuse had eaten a bottle of makeup, a rock, a bottle of water, a bottle of wine, and a party streamer among other things and now he was about to eat a hat for some odd reason.

All five adults watched him with worry, staring in confusion as he successfully put the hat in his mouth and swallowed it whole. Lydia watched on with excitement but the rest of the family wanted Betelgeuse to stop before Lydia was dared by him to eat something that would make her sick.

Barbara stood up, making her way over towards the two of them and looking in Betelgeuse’s direction. “Could you stop before you dare Lydia to eat something that would make her sick, Betelgeuse? Please?”

He looked to her, popping a pile of dirt into his mouth. “Oh yes,” he said, “like I was just about to dare Lyds to eat a pile of dirt like I am doing right now.”

“No,” Barbara deadpanned.

“Yes!” came Lydia’s reply. 

“How about you eat another Apple instead, Lydia,” Barbara suggested. She summoned an Apple out of thin air and handed it to Lydia.

The teen took it hesitantly and then took a bite out of it, looking up at Barbara with a smile on her face. 

“Thanks, Barb,” Lydia said, “for the Apple.”

“You’re welcome, Lydia.”

_______

Lydia, Charles, and Delia had fallen asleep and the rest of the group didn’t want to disturb them. They just looked so peaceful. Adam, Barbara, and Emily chatted amongst themselves, albeit quietly.

“So, Em,” Adam softly said, “could you tell us more stories of what Lydia was like when she was younger?”

“Where do I begin,” came Emily’s reply. “She was way too curious for a child. I remember once, when she was two and a half years old, she was climbing all over the furniture. She’d fallen and cried so hard, Charles and I had to take her to the hospital because we were afraid she’d broken a bone.”

“That must’ve hurt,” Barbara commented.

“It did,” Emily sighed softly, “it turned out that she had in fact broken a bone in her leg and she needed to undergo a surgery to get it fixed.”

“Ouch,” Adam said.

“You got other stories, Em?” Barbara asked her fellow female ghost.

“Oh yes,” replied Emily. “Did you want me to tell you of the time Lydia first rode a bike on her own?”

“Yes please!” the Maitlands said in unison.

“She was only seven and a half,” Emily began, “before, Charles would often help her whenever she wanted to go outside and ride her bike. So we figured it was time for her to do it on her own. Charles pushed her along like he usually did and let go. And let me tell you, Lydia lost balance on her bike and nearly fell off of it. She was lucky I caught her on time.”

“Did that happen often?” Adam asked.

“Yeah...” came Emily’s response.

__________

By now, Lydia, Charles, and Delia had woken up, each again exceptionally hungry. They looked to Adam, Barbara, and Emily. 

“Hey, uh, guys,” Lydia spoke up, grabbing the ghosts’ attention. “Could we have more Apples please?”

They looked at one another and then refocused their attention back towards Lydia, Charles, and Delia. “Of course, guys,” Emily said with a smile. At that, the three ghosts each summoned more Apples for Lydia, Charles, and Delia, giving the fruits to them.

“Thanks, guys, thanks, mom,” Lydia said as she, her dad, and Delia each took a bite of the Apples they were holding.

“You’re very welcome,” all three ghosts said at once.


	10. Going Back Home Only to be Taken Again

Charles had pulled out the chalk he had hidden in one of his pockets from when they went into the Netherworld to look for Lydia and used it to draw a door back to the Living World. Turning to face the rest of the family, a smile formed on his face. “I think we’re ready to go home as of right now,” he said, “I don’t think I can take much more of being trapped in the Netherworld.”

“Agreed,” everyone else said.

“You coming, Emily?” Charles asked.

“I don’t think I can exit the Netherworld,” Emily lamented.

“Well, we won’t know unless you try,” Charles said. He grabbed a hold of the female ghost’s hand.

They began to head towards the door, but before the seven of them could step through and leave the Netherworld, the sound of a voice stopped them and they turned to find Miss. Argentina staring at them with what appeared to be a look of annoyance.

“Where do you guys think you’re going?” She asked.

“We were totally not thinking about leaving,” Charles lied. Miss. Argentina raised an eyebrow.

Without hesitation, the group of seven turned, going through the door to the Netherworld and it shut behind them, leaving Miss. Argentina standing there. With a huff, Miss. Argentina turned and exited the room.

“I’m going to tell Juno about this,” the Green skinned ghost said quietly to herself.

_________

Emily explored her new surroundings with great interest. She couldn’t believe that she was in fact able to leave the Netherworld. She turned to Charles and gave him a smile.

“So I take it you like it here?” Charles asked.

“Yes,” came Emily’s response.

She floated over towards the couch and sat herself down on it, Charles sitting down next to her. Soon after, Lydia, Adam, Barbara, Delia, and Betelgeuse joined them in the living room. Lydia, Adam, Barbara, and Delia sat on the couch as well but Betelgeuse remained standing up.

“Hey, guys!” Betelgeuse announced. “Did you want to see a super neat trick I can do.” The rest of the family looked at him, seeing his entire body engulfed in flames.

“No!” Charles, Delia, Emily, Adam, and Barbara shouted in unison.

“Yes!” shouted Lydia.

_________

Miss. Argentina stood in Juno’s office, telling Juno what had happened earlier that day.

Juno rested a hand against her chin. “So they escaped from the Netherworld, did they?”

“Yes,” Miss. Argentina confirmed with a sigh.

“And you tried to stop them?” Juno continued.

“Yes, but they got away right as I was doing it.”

“Ugh,” Juno said, standing up. “Looks like I’m gonna have to go back to that house again.”

_________

The family of seven sat together on the couch, chatting away about varying topics. An hour had passed since they all managed to get out of the Netherworld and they were slowly getting used to having another new family member living in the house.

Lydia buried her head into her dead mom’s nonexistent chest. “Mom?” She asked quietly. “Was the Netherworld boring?”

“Yeah,” came Emily’s response. “You won’t believe how much I’ve wanted to leave the Netherworld. See you guys again.” She looked at Charles and then down at Lydia, a smile on her face.

“And now you’re out of the Netherworld!” Lydia cheered, wrapping her arms around her dead mom.

“Not for long,” a voice said.

The family of seven turned their heads to find Juno standing next to an opened door to the Netherworld. The Red clad woman had a look of anger plastered on her face and she had her gaze focused directly on Emily.

“Why are you here again, Mom!” Betelgeuse demanded. He kept his eyes focused on the demon standing directly across from him.

“I’m here to take her back into the Netherworld with me,” Juno had replied, pointing a finger at Emily.

Emily took a few steps backwards. She wasn’t about to let Juno take her back to the Netherworld. Especially when she was just getting used to being out of the Netherworld.

“Leave her alone!” Lydia, Charles, Delia, Adam, Barbara, and Betelgeuse shouted in unison.

“No, I don’t think I will,” Juno said, a chuckle escaping her throat.

She grabbed a hold of Emily’s arm and proceeded to drag her back into the Netherworld. But Barbara, Adam, and Betelgeuse had used their ghost powers to pull the scared female ghost back. The three ghosts and the male demon fell backwards onto the floor. Juno let out a grunt of desperation. 

“She’s coming back with me no matter what it takes!” Juno spat. Again, she grabbed a hold of Emily’s arm and successfully managed to drag her back into the Netherworld with her.

The door to the Netherworld slammed closed behind the two of them.

“Mom!” Lydia began to cry hysterically, falling onto her knees and staring at the now bare wall.

“Don’t worry, Lydia, sweetie,” Barbara reassured the upset teenager, “we’ll find a way to get her back here.”

“I hope...” Charles added. He pulled out the same chalk from earlier and eyed the bare wall in determination.


	11. Heading Back to the Netherworld

Adam paced around the living room. “How are we gonna get through the Netherworld again without Juno catching us?”

“I don’t know, Adam, honey,” came his wife’s response. “But I do know that we need to be extra careful and super quiet.”

“Dad, do you have another piece of chalk?” Lydia asked.

“Right here, Lydia, sweetheart,” came her dad’s response. He revealed a piece of Sea Green

Charles used the piece of chalk he had to draw a door to the Netherworld and the group of six headed inside, the door closing behind them. They tiptoed their way down a long hallway, managing to find somewhere to hide when they caught sight of Betelgeuse’s mom ( she didn’t take notice of them, luckily), until they came across the room they knew Emily was in just by hearing the sound of her voice.

Charles knocked on the door, “Em, are you in here?”

He heard a “yeah” and pushed the door open, leading the rest of the group inside. They found Emily sitting in the corner, looking sadly at them.

“Mom, are you okay?” Lydia asked as she and her dad rushed over to help the ghost up.

“I’m fine,” came Emily’s response.

“Want to come back home with us?” Charles asked his first wife. 

Emily nervously looked to the side, unsure of how to explain what she was thinking but after a while, she looked everyone else in the eye. “Actually,” she said softly, “I was thinking about staying here.”

“WHAT?!” nearly everyone else in the room shouted in unison.

“But,” she continued, “I can come and visit you whenever I want.”

That relieved everyone. Tears forming in her eyes, Lydia ran over and gave her dead mom a hug. “Promise the first time you visit will be sometime this week, mom?”

“I promise.” Emily returned her daughter’s hug. “I’ll visit tomorrow.”

“Great.”

With a final goodbye to her dead mom, Lydia followed her family over towards an open door to the Living World and the six of them headed through, the door closing behind them.

Now left alone, Emily made plans to go visit her family and friends the next day.

She was glad that she was able to see her husband and daughter again after a few months and she was happy to have made some new friends. She couldn’t wait to see them all tomorrow when she visited them. And she had plenty of other stories to tell her fellow ghosts.


End file.
